I just booked my first Royal Caribbean cruise for April and upon reading online reviews, was disappointed to hear about the last minute cheap deal offers to locals, who then overran the ship being very rude and unfriendly. Has anyone experienced this and how often does this occur? Just concerned...........

I went out of Puerto Rico on the Adventure of the Seas in December 2008. I can say I never experienced what you've described. What one person perceives as rude or unfriendly may just be a culture difference. I wouldn't be concerned.

You must be referring to cruises out of Florida. I experienced this on a cruise from Port Canaveral, when the cruise line offered a special deal to Florida residents to fill our undersold cruise. Lots of rude and boorish behavior from my fellow Americans. In fact I think half the passengers were from the Orlando area. They acted like they owned the ship. Thankfully it was only a 3-night cruise.

We have cruised out of San Juan 3 times and Florida 3 times. Prior to our first cruise out of San Juan we read many reviews speaking about the rude behaviour of the Puerto Ricans. We read enough bad information that we seriously considered cancelling our cruise.

We have seen very little in the way of rude and unfriendly behaviour. What we have seen has come from Americans. I think that Cruise Fanatic is correct in saying that cultural differences must be taken into account while on a cruise.

Just kick back and relax. Remember you are on vacation. Someone cutting in front of you in line (we've never seen this) is not going to slow you down much if at all and is not worth ruining your trip over.

Well, it was definitely the port out of San Juan the other cruisers were referring to, but maybe you are right - cultural differences. The postings were late 2009, holiday season, so not sure if timing had anything to do with it.

We have cruised out of San Juan twice and ports in Fl as well. We have stayed on prior to our cruises in San Juan and have found the locals to be very cordial and engaging. We have not experienced in our cruises what has been described.
You'll enjoy the cruise out of San Juan and the ship. We have done Explorer and Adventurer of the Seas.

We sailed out of San Juan last April and the locals did over run the ship. This would not have been a problem if the majority were not so rude and obnoxious. They definitely put a damper on an otherwise good time.

We experienced some of this going out of San Juan. It seemed that the native Puerto Ricans did not feel that the end of the line pertained to them. Also they sat on a "bridge" type area between the two pools for hours drinking and socializing and no one could pass through these areas. It was boorish and rude, but hardly the stuff to "ruin" anyone's vacation. It simply forced people to go around the pool and wasn't that big of a deal. I don't like line jumpers, but we still got off the ship in plenty of time for our activities. It just seemed so startling when you are in a line that meanders through a corridor and up a stairwell that joining at the back end should be self explanatory for all cultures. I would go again even if the "locals" were plentiful. It's a cruise!! And boorish people come from all countries if you look for them or let them get to you.

The same as others, I have taken a few out of San Juan, my preference if the flights are good. I have seen some of this behavior, but the terrific islands you get to visit and for me a couple of days in San Juan outweigh any other things IMO. Can't wait to do it again !!

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